The prior art of medical diagnostic electrodes includes a set of electrodes for application to the body skin for purposes of performing an EKG test. Individual ones of these electrodes are applied by a medical assistant to the limbs and the chest of the patient, and this requires a certain set-up time in preparation for the test. The electrodes are attached to cables which often become entangled, making identification of the proper electrode difficult as well as consuming additional set-up time.
The set-up difficulties with the electrodes and time consuming nature of the activity in performing an EKG test tend to make the patient uncomfortable, and the experience unpleasant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,679 to Blackham et al. discloses an adjustable head set for use in performing an EEG test, with the head set held in place on the back of a patient's head when the patient leans back against a chair head rest. The head set includes disposable monitors which provide good contact with the head without prior skin preparation. This design is not applicable to EKG testing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,768 to Golab et al. discloses an integrated medical testing system for automated administration of test stimuli to a patient, including stimulation control means for automatically administering the stimuli and for controlling a rotatable chair in which the patient is seated.
A set of electrodes for stimulating regions of the skin of disabled individuals is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,878 to Levine, and an example is presented using the electrodes in a wheelchair seat, to avoid the likelihood of pressure sores.
The increase in sophistication of medical instrumentation has led to the development of self-administered test devices for monitoring personal health, such as blood pressure. Designed especially for simplicity of use, such machines are available for public use in shopping centers, etc. Despite these developments, use of the EKG machine remains complicated and time-consuming due to the electrode set-up time.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an electrode system to facilitate use of the EKG machine quickly and easily.